Always There for You
by YuriFan300
Summary: Mai and Reo are finally married and everything goes well for the newly wedded couple. They even have their own child. However, there is a surprise that awaits Reo . . . and their lives as a wedded couple may not last as they had hoped. Sequel to "Joy of Marrying You."
1. Prologue

**Always There For You **

**Pairing: Mai x Reo**

**Genre: Family/Drama**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sono Hanabira/A Kiss for the Petals or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: Hello, everyone! My name is YuriFan300! As you all know, this is another sequel to my other Mai x Reo story just as I promised. Just thought I would start the New Year's with this sequel and see how this goes. So, sit back, relax and enjoy the story!**

I feel as though time is consuming me. I look at my watch, which says 3:00 pm, and slap my steering wheel in frustration as I look at the horrible traffic in front of me. I had a call from the hospital an hour earlier, saying that my wife, Reo, has a daughter. I got really excited that I left the apartment immediately and got in my car to go. Yes. I, Mai Sawaguchi, had married my classmate, lover and now wife, Reo Kawamura. It had been one full year since then, and I can still remember our wonderful wedding we had held. It was right at the front of our old school, St. Michael's School for Girls, where Reo had first confessed to me. And I proposed to her at the exact same spot. Since then, we waited for 2 years to get married and we finally did.

But . . . before that . . . we had some issues. There was a girl that was in our class during third year who fell in love with Reo. Her name is Matsuri Tojo and she had been overly obsessed with Reo ever since she had confessed her love to her. But later I found out it was for one reason: Reo resembles Matsuri's childhood friend, Akiho Kotosaki. When she heard about our engagement, it had made her want Reo even more. But no matter how hard she tried to break us up, our love for each other never ceased and pretty soon, both of us were reunited once again. Matsuri however was sent to a mental institution to straighten herself out and after about 2 months, she was released, or that what I heard from Reo.

Now, a year had passed and the two of us were together more than ever before. We even moved to a new location at Kyoto. And eventually, Reo had suddenly became pregnant for some reason. I didn't know why, but she told me that she wasn't feeling very well when we got back from our honeymoon. I didn't know what was wrong with her until I saw some symptoms, like vomiting, dizziness and sort of wobbliness. And then, I came to realize that Reo had somehow become pregnant. During those times she was pregnant, I tried my best to take care of her as much as possible.

And then, we've come to the present. Reo somehow had successfully gotten past 9 months of pregnancy and was awaiting for the baby's arrival. I had taken Reo to the hospital first thing in the morning when she had that pain. And now that it's over, I found out that Reo just had a baby daughter. But unfortunately, this darn traffic is getting in the way! It's been about 15 minutes since I countered this traffic. However, I think I can take another street to get past these cars and get to the hospital quicker.

As I reach the ramp, I get off the freeway, head towards another street that might take me to where the hospital is, at least that's what is according to my GPS attached to one of the air vents. I had purchased it during our time together as a wedded couple. Reo didn't seem to mind, although I start to wonder if she'll ever use it. Maybe I'll teach her some time later.

As I reach to my destination, I look at my watch, which says 3:30. I'm about a half-hour late, which isn't bad to me, but I'm wondering how Reo would react because of me being late. I've been told that Reo's room is on the 2nd floor on room 234. I rush over there, take a few deep breaths and quietly open the door. There, I see my beloved Reo, sitting on the hospital bed with her baby daughter in her arms, sleeping peacefully. Reo's blonde hair had grown about 5 inches longer since we spent time together. But she's still the cute girl I love, though she hasn't really grown an inch yet. I'm wondering is she's going to be like this for the rest of her life.

"You're late," Reo says quietly, but sternly. There's a slight blush on her face, but turns away to try to hide it.

I smirk at her. "Not even a little late?"

"Quiet you."

I slowly approach her and sit on the chair next to her, smiling. "So . . . how's the baby?"

"She's fine," Reo replies.

I examine the baby with a smile. "Wow! She has some fluffy hair like yours, Reo. And she's kind of small as well."

"Yes, but she is certainly cute." Reo adds while still blushing. A soft smile comes across her face. "Look, she's even smiling in her sleep. Very adorable."

"Hehe! Just like you, Reo!" I poke her cheek, which makes her growl under her breath.

"If I weren't in this stupid hospital, I'd be able to punch you in the face right now."

"Hehe! Sorry. Got carried away."

Both of us look down at our cute daughter before us. She's sleeping peacefully under the bundle the doctors gave Reo as my wife gently rocks it a few times. She then looks up at me and smiles. I smile back as I kiss her on the forehead. Yes, this is the moment that none of us could ever forget.

"So . . . have you figured out a name?" I ask.

Reo flinches at the question and quickly averts her eyes in many directions. "Um . . . uh . . . well . . ."

I sigh. I'm guessing that she didn't? "Well, what do you think we should name her?"

"Beats me," Reo replies. "I'm not so good with names."

"You're not even gonna give it a try?" I ask. I remember back in high school when we had this class science project to take care of baby chicks for a few days. Reo and I were partners and we had to name our chick in order to not get mixed up with the other ones. Reo had a really hard time thinking of a good name for that chick that I had to step in and name it.

Reo shakes her head. "No."

"I see . . ."

"Did you ask the others?" Reo asks.

"Well, I haven't since I didn't know what gender what we're gonna get," I reply, truthfully. "But Sara-san did say if we ever did get a girl, we should name her Chika."

"No."

"Aw. I think it's a cute name."

"Well, I ain't buying."

Oh, man. Reo just rejected that suggestion. "Okay . . . well, how about Hana?"

"That's your sister's name!" Reo says. "We can't do that!"

"Oh, right. Ahaha. Then, how about Akiko?"

Reo hesitates for a bit, but shakes her head. "Nah, she can't be as bright as you think she can be."

"Oh, but we'll never know, right?" I say, winking at her.

Reo blushes a bit while looking down at the baby. "I still think we should pick a different name."

I sigh softly. I'm running out of ideas on what we should name our daughter. Just then, if it was my imagination, I hear Reo gasp and look down at the baby with a satisfied smile.

"What is it, Reo? Did you come up with a name for our baby?" I ask.

She nods.

"Well, tell me!" I say eagerly.

"You might laugh," Reo says.

"Aw, don't say that."

"I'm serious, you're gonna laugh once I say it," Reo says, turning away.

"Okay, I won't laugh," I promise her. "I cross my heart."

Reo hesitates again before turning back to me and whispers it in my ear. My eyes widen in amazement as I let out a quiet "Oh" right after she pulls away.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just . . . that's an awesome name," I say to Reo.

"You think so?"

"Yes."

And so it's settled. The name of our daughter is just perfect.

**"Sachiko Kawamura Sawaguchi."**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hello, everyone! I know everyone's been wanting a sequel, so here it is, my friends! I didn't want all of you to keep on waiting and waiting for it to happen, so I decided to kick off the New Year's with this Mai x Reo story. And I literally had to look up good Japanese names for Mai and Reo to name their daughter and let me tell you, it was really difficult, especially looking up their meanings. Oh, this was inspired by a Shugo Chara fanfic called, "The Perfect Name".**

**Feel free to give out any suggestions, questions or concerns and don't forget to review!**


	2. Our Happy Child

**Chapter 2**

**Our Happy Child**

**2 years later . . .**

"Mommy!" little Sachiko happily runs up to me with a small flower in her hand. "Look what I got from the garden today!" Now 2-years-old, she is already starting to look very elegant. Her blonde hair is already going past her chest and her looks are even more adorable that she was when she was an infant.

I look over to see the little flower in her hand. "Very nice."

"Aw, at least you could say is 'Nice flower' or something," my wife Mai says, while closing the door behind her. "It was the best flower they had."

"Not like one of those other flowers from that Green House just a few blocks away, right?" I ask.

"Reo . . ."'

I sigh and turn over to my daughter, giving her my best smile. "It's lovely, sweetie. Thank you." I take the rose and place it in a little vase. Mai lets out a small giggle and smiles.

"What?"

"You don't remember, do you?" Mai asks.

"No, I don't."

"Well, today is mother's day, silly! Our daughter is practically giving us flowers as gifts!"

"Oh, that." I say. "Sorry, I got a bit too much on my mind right now."

Mai just smiles and walks over to me. "That's alright. Hey, want to take our daughter somewhere fun?"

"Like what?"

"Oh, the park, restaurant, anything," Mai says. "I bet Sachiko would like to have some fun today as well."

"But what about us?"

Mai giggles. "We'll have some fun at the same time. Don't worry. After all, we _are _a family."

My face gets a bit warm, but turn away to hide it. "Th-that's true, but-"

"So, why not go there now?" She takes my hand and lifts me up from the chair.

I turn away to hide my blush. "D-do we have to?"

Mai frowns at me. "You don't want to?"

It takes a minute to find the words. "Well . . . we can go. It's just that I don't know what everyone will think when we show up with Sachiko in public. I'm feeling really nervous."

Mai scratches her chin. "Hmm . . . you're right on that one. But hey, our daughter needs the fresh air, you know? And besides, we've been out there with her a couple of times, so there's nothing to worry about."

"I-I guess." But to be honest, I have something to worry about: Sachiko might blurt out some embarrassing things about us if we're not careful. "But I must warn you: be sure to keep Sachiko under control, okay? We don't want her to embarrass us."

"Alright." Mai says. "I'll try my best."

* * *

><p>After a little while, we had decided to take a stroll in the park. Taking our daughter with, we had left our apartment and headed down to the park. It took us about 20 minutes to get there by foot since it's about 4 blocks from our place and with me holding Sachiko's hand and Mai walking along with us, we look around for a playground for Sachiko to play on. Mai looks over and notices a small playground just down the middle of the park and leans down to Sachiko's level.<p>

"Okay, Sachiko," Mai says. "Mama's gonna take you to the playground. We'll try and play with you as much as we can."

I look at her like she's nuts. "Whoa! What's with the 'we'? I'm not playing on that playground. I'm all grown up now!"

Mai just winks at me. "Oh, but isn't it better to have fun once in awhile?"

I just sigh. "I'll try my best."

"Hooray!" little Sachiko says.

Mai proceeds to take our daughter to the playground while I find a bench to sit on and rest. All that walking has made me really tired anyway. As I look over to watch Mai play with our daughter, my wife looks over and smiles at me while giving me a thumbs up. She is placing Sachiko on the one of the baby swings and begins to gently push her. Sachiko happily squeals from each push, meaning that she's enjoying it a lot. I feel a small smile creep up on my face. I have to admit: having a daughter can be a lot of fun sometimes. I had no idea this would come to this after we were married, but if I have to describe this kind of thing, I would say that it's a miracle.

"Reo-sama, is that you?" a familiar voice says from my left.

I look over to notice a familiar silver haired girl with another girl who looks like me, only with the dark brown hair and her expression is somewhat shy, but kind and soft. I smile at both of the girls as I stand up and start hugging them both.

"Matsuri! Akiho-chan!" I exclaim. "I'm so glad to see you both! What are you doing here?"

"Well, Aki-chan and I just thought we'd come here in Kyoto to spend our lives," Matsuri says. "I had no idea that you'd be here, though." She looks up at Mai and waves at her. "Hey, Mai-sama! It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Oh, hey, Matsuri!" Mai waves back. "Yes, it has! How have you been?"

"Been fine," the silver haired girl says. Then, she notices the girl who's being pushed. "Who's that, Reo-sama?"

"Oh, that's our daughter," I reply. "Her name is Sachiko."

"Wow!" Akiho-chan says as she puts her hands on her cheeks. "She's so adorable!"

"I didn't know you would even have a child," Matsuri points out. "But hey, I'm glad you have. Congratulations."

I smile at her. "Thank you. So, are you two doing well?"

"Yes, very well," Matsuri replies. "In fact, just a year ago, we got engaged. I proposed to Aki-chan and she accepted."

"Wow! Congratulations," I say, smiling.

"Thank you," Akiho-chan says, shyly. "It was a bit strange, but I really enjoyed it at the same time. I'm glad I have Matsuri-chan as my lover. She had really changed from before."

"I can see that," I say. "Well, I wish you both luck when you two hold your wedding and I'm sure Mai and I can attend it."

"Yes, you two should definitely come!" Akiho-chan agrees.

"It would be really great to invite you two along," Matsuri adds. She looks up and notices Mai walking towards us. "Oh, hi, Mai-sama."

"Hello," Mai says as she is looking at our child in her arms. "Sachiko, I would like you to meet our two friends, Matsuri and Akiho-san. Think of them as your . . . aunties."

I raise an eyebrow. "Is that the best you can come up with?"

"Why not?" Mai says. "After all, I think it's time for our daughter to meet them, don't you think?" She turns to our blonde daughter. "Say hello, Sachiko."

"Hi," Sachiko says.

Matsuri is the first to come to our child and gently shake her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Sachiko-chan. You're so cute."

"Yes," Akiho-chan says. "It's nice to meet you, too. Oh, I just want to hold you and cuddle you right now!"

"Do you want to?" Mai asks.

"Really!? You would let me!?"

"Sure," Mai replies. "Here, she's friendly." She hands Sachiko to Akiho-chan, in which the dark brown haired girl squeals in excitement.

"Awwww!" Akiho-chan exclaims. "She's even more adorable up close!"

"I know, right?" Matsuri walks over to get a closer look, too. She gently tickles the little child, which makes Sachiko laugh. "Hey there, cutie~"

Sachiko reaches out her little arms to Matsuri. "Auntie!"

Matsuri gasps in amazement while Akiho-chan giggles.

"I'm thinking that it's your turn to hold her, Matsuri-chan," the dark brown haired girl says.

Matsuri nods as Akiho-chan hand Sachiko to her. The silver haired girl gently cuddles our daughter as Sachiko laughs again.

"Auntie!" she says again.

"Yes, I am your auntie," Matsuri coos as she tickles the child again.

Mai and I exchange looks and smile at one another. At least our daughter is getting along with our friends. And she seems to be really enjoying herself. After about a few minutes of playing with Sachiko, Matsuri hands her to me.

"You know, you've picked a really good name for her, I have to say," the silver haired girl says.

"Yes," Akiho-chan agrees. "I mean, look at her."

"Well . . . I guess from the way she was smiling while she was sleeping when she was born gave me an idea," I admit.

"Judging from her personality, her name really does fit, doesn't it?" Mai says. "'Sachiko' means 'happy child', right?"

"Exactly," Matsuri agrees.

Mai and I smile at each other again. For me, I'm really glad that we had named our daughter that. That was probably the first excellent idea that I had in years in coming up with names.

"Say, isn't today Mother's Day?" Matsuri asks.

"It is," Mai replies. "Our daughter gave us some flowers as gifts today."

"Oh, how sweet," Akiho-chan says, smiling.

"What about your parents?" Matsuri asks.

"Well, I just sent my mom a card with a rose attached to it earlier in the morning," Mai replies. "I just hope she likes it."

"I see." Matsuri turns to me. "Reo-sama, what about your mom?"

I hesitate as I try to find the words to answer the question. "My . . . parents are still overseas. So, I don't know what I'm getting my mom."

"It's alright," Akiho-chan says. "You'll get to it soon. Besides, I'm sure you can wish your mother a Happy Mother's Day anyway over the phone, right?"

"Y-yes." For me, I'm not really sure on that one. I'm also not really sure if I'm ever able to talk with my family since they had went overseas for a very long time.

"Reo, are you okay?" Mai asks me.

I try to smile at her as I nod. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm just . . . a bit out of it today."

"Well, do you want to rest up?" Mai asks. "It's been an hour, right?"

"I guess," I reply. This might be a chance for me to explain to my wife what is really going on, or if I can explain it.

"Okay," Matsuri. says. "We have to go anyways. It's really nice meeting you two again."

"Yes," Akiho-chan says. "I hope we can see each other again."

"I hope so, too," Mai says. "We really weren't expecting you two to be here in Kyoto as well. But I'm very glad that you two are here."

I turn to my daughter and say, "Sachiko, wanna say good-bye to your new aunties?"

"Bye-bye!" the little blonde says as she waves her small hand in a very fast motion.

Matsuri and Akiho-chan giggle. Once both Mai and I say our good-byes, we all part ways and Mai and I head back down to the apartment.

* * *

><p>Once we enter our room, Sachiko is already tired from all that playing, so Mai proceeds to place her in the crib in the other room, silently close the door and head over to the living room. I'm sitting on the couch in front of the television, which isn't even on and I'm just looking down at the floor with a pained expression on my face. To be honest, I was like this the whole way from the park to our apartment room. The mentioning of my parents had just affected me very much like an arrow had shot me square in the chest.<p>

Mai takes this opportunity to walk over and sit next to me while gently taking my hands in her own. "Is something the matter, Reo? Why do you look so sad?"

I finally decide to come right out and say it. "You know how my parents are still overseas?"

"Yes."

"Well, they still are. And . . . I haven't been talking to them in a very long time. Not since I had argued with them to stay here in Japan just to be with you. Do you think something is wrong here?"

Mai scratches her chin for a bit before shaking her head. "No, I don't think so. At least, that's what I know. But your parents love you no matter what, right?"

I shake my head. "I don't think it's really possible. I mean, if I'm not talking to them, they aren't talking to me either. Mai, I'm 22-years-old now. I should be able to get along with my parents by now. But . . . it's just not happening."

"Reo, maybe your parents are just busy with work or something," Mai guesses, trying to find the positive in this, which didn't work for me.

"How would you know that?" I ask, frowning at her. "You and your parents get along just fine while mine just . . . never speak to me. They've been freaking busy even before I met you. You know how that is, right? Having to be alone all the time without your parents ever speaking to you or even spending time with you?"

"Yes, I remember." Mai says, softly. She gently wraps her arms around me for comfort. "You told me the story back when we were in high school. That really wasn't a good reason to raise their daughter like that, was it?"

I shake my head. "No. And now, I'm afraid what I'm gonna do if I'm ever gonna face my parents. What will they say? What will they think when they find out that I'm gay? Will they ever accept our relationship?" Tears are starting to form in my eyes, but I quickly wipe them with my arm.

"Reo . . ." I can tell from my wife's expression that she is fully understanding what I'm going throughout right now. And I'm really grateful for that.

"It's . . . not fair," I continue as more tears are starting to form, most of them falling from my eyes. "It's not fair that my parents had to be like this. They weren't there for me at all before I met you, and they never had the time for me. Sure they were together again, but could I ever be with them even after they were together? Of course not. That's why I had to fight with them to be with you in Japan. I can never trust them if they even wanted me to be with them. They might abandon me again. They might leave me all alone again. And I didn't want that at all."

"Reo . . ."

Then, I couldn't hold it in anymore, plunge into Mai's chest as I begin to sob. "Mai, I-I'm a terrible person, aren't I!? If all of us had gotten along better, maybe then I would've had trusted people more. I wouldn't have to be the aggressive, troublesome girl I am today if it weren't for us not talking with each other. I just feel . . . horrible. Mai I . . . I . . ." I choke on a sob. "I just don't know what to do!" And then, with more tears falling freely from my eyes, I sob hard on Mai's chest. Thinking about all this makes my heart ache. Will I ever talk to my parents again?

Just then, I feel Mai stroking my head gently and whisper, "Reo, you don't have to blame yourself."

I sniffle as I look up at my wife. "B-but . . ."

"I know that you had made that decision to stay in Japan just for my sake," Mai says. "And I know you must feel awful that you did that, but to be honest, I think your parents still love you, even if you had made that decision. But . . . I'm not really sure if we're ready to tell them about our relationship yet."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"They . . . might have already known."

I gasp. "What!?"

"I know it's really late for saying this, but when I called them to come to our wedding, they had refused and told me that they were still busy," Mai explains. "Now, I don't know if I'm correct on it, but when I told them about us, they must have been so quick about it that they hung up before I could even explain."

That's when I know the reason why. "W-what are we gonna do? I don't want my parents to take me away from you." I grab on to her shirt. "We're married! We have a child! I don't want this to end now, even though it's been 3 years since we were married!"

Mai gives me a sad look. "I don't know yet, Reo. But for now, let's prepare for the worst. The least we could do is spend our lives together as much as we could. And if your parents do arrive here, we just have to try our best to explain the situation to them. I'm sure your parents will understand . . . right?"

"I hardly doubt that," I say, softly as I hug myself. This makes me even more worried. What if they don't accept our relationship and try to take me away from Mai?

All of a sudden, I feel her grab my cheek, pull me in and feel her lips lock onto mine. My eyes widen in shock for a bit before relaxing and returning the kiss. Both of us pull away to catch our breath after about a minute of our kissing.

"Reo, I'll always be there for you," Mai says, having a serious look on her face. "Even if your parents want you back, I'll be there to stand up for you. They should really understand our relationship and maybe accept it. Because I love you, Reo. And I will not let this happen again."

"Mai . . ."

My wife nods as she smiles at me. "Reo, you don't need to worry. As long as I'm here, everything will be fine. I promise."

"Really?" I ask.

"Really."

I hesitate as I glance down at the floor, blushing. "Mai, you idiot. Don't you realize that you're too close to me?"

Mai just giggles. "Aw, I was just trying to comfort you. Don't you like my warm body against you?"

"Th-that's not the point!" Great, just when we had a serious conversation and I go right out and say something stupid.

"Reo," she takes my shoulders and makes me look at her. She then kisses me again. "I said that everything will be fine as long as I'm by your side. No one is gonna take you away from me again."

"I really hope so." In fact, I'm wondering if my parents are gonna be a more powerful force since Matsuri had the nerve to break us up before. Will they ever accept us?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: To be honest, I don't know what the next Sono Hana game featuring Mai x Reo would be like, but if it's gonna involve Reo's parents, then I'm kind of screwed. I sincerely hope this story is still worth writing, even if the next Mai x Reo game is released. It's been on my mind when I was writing this. And I'm really not into writing stories if some series are gonna be ongoing and will get released any time soon. But I really hope I get to keep writing this story, so let me know what you think of this and see if I should keep going on it. **

**Also, I have no clue how 2 wives work out, especially if they happen to have a child. But since anime is usually fiction, I'm guessing I can make it up, right? **

**Feel free to give out any suggestions, questions or concerns and don't forget to review! ;)**


	3. A Mysterious Man

**Chapter 3**

**A Mysterious Man**

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews and I'm glad you all are enjoying the story so far. However, some of you are asking about the cause of Reo's pregnancy and pointed out some things to me that would be the likely cause of it. Well, in this chapter and the next may answer your questions. Thanks for the suggestions, too. ;) That really helped me develop this chapter for you guys as well. :D **

One day, while I'm busy playing with Sachiko, Mai is stepping towards the front door. I am the first to notice.

"Mai," i call. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going grocery shopping," Mai replies. "We seem to get a little low on food."

"Oh, can I come with?" I ask. "There are some things that I want to pick out, too."

"What about some food for Sachiko?"

"That, too."

Mai thinks about it for a moment until she shrugs. "Alright. Be sure to keep watch over her. In fact, let's put her on the seat on the cart so that she won't get lost."

"That's fine." Not like it wouldn't matter anyway, I'm sure I can handle this sort of thing on my own. After getting ready, Mai carries Sachiko and all of us walk out of the apartment and outside in the fresh air. To be honest, it's a good thing that we went out today since it's such a beautiful day out. The market isn't that far from us, but we have to go about 5 blocks from our apartment. Once we get there, we find that it's sort of crowded.

I start to turn away. "Well this is a difficult. Why don't we come back another time?" I'm about to walk away when Mai grabs my shoulder with her free hand.

"Reo," she says. "We can still do this, even at a crowded place like this. We've done this millions of times, right?"

I just groan.

"Reo . . ."

"Fine. Let's go." I let out a heavy sigh. I'm having the feeling that we're not gonna make it out of there alive.

* * *

><p>So far, we've found almost everything that's on our list, including some food for Sachiko. The only things that we didn't find are my favorite food. Oh, well. Maybe next time, right? When both of us go to the check out line, Sachiko takes notice of a stack of tootsie pops in a glass cup and tries to reach for them.<p>

"What is it, Sachiko?" Mai says.

"Candy!" Our little daughter says, still trying to reach for them.

I take one and am about to hand it to her when Mai snatches it away from me. "Now, Reo. We can't spoil the child all the time, right?"

"Aw, really? She only wants the candy."

"I know, but we also need to teach her that we can't always get what we want all the time," Mai points out. She turns to our daughter. "No candy, Sachiko. Save it for later, okay?"

Sachiko pouts her lips a little, which I have to admit is cute, but then quickly nods her head. So, after paying for our items, we start to walk out of the store when I suddenly bump into a tall man in front of me.

"Hey!" I shout at him. "Watch where you're going!"

But when I take a good look at him, he somehow seems familiar to me. He has brownish hair and wearing black clothing.

"I'm sorry, darling," he says, flirtatiously. "Did I hurt you?"

"U-um . . . no, I'm fine."

Mai comes up running to the both of us. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I reply.

"What about you, sir?"

"I am, too." He takes a look at our child. "Wow, what a beautiful child you have. What's her name?"

"Sachiko," Mai replies.

I step toward the man. "Well, you're not allowed to hold her, if that's what you're thinking."

"Hey, I'm not thinking about anything," the man says.

"Yeah, right!"

"Anyway, is this child one of yours?"

"Well . . ."

"This is nothing that you should be concerned about!" I interrupt Mai.

"Reo!" Mai says, glaring at me.

"Wow, what a harsh girl you are, darling," the man says.

"Darling?" Mai questions as she looks at both me and the man back and forth a few times. "Huh!?"

"Don't call me that, you freak!" I yell. "Mai and I were just having a perfect day until you ruined it! Now, if you'll excuse us, we have some things we have to do. Right, Mai?"

"Oh, r-right."

Just as Mai walks past the man, he peers close to my ear and whispers, "Enjoy your happy little family while you still can. Because pretty soon, it will be all over."

I just nod as I walk past him. Something about this man gives me the shivers, but I still don't know why he would be here. And even worse, I had met that man before . . . during the time of our honeymoon. I just can't believe he would still recognize me after 2 years.

By the time Mai and I get to our apartment, we put away the groceries and let Sachiko watch her favorite show in her crib while I sit in the other room, thinking about what just happened out there. Mai soon enters the room and closes the door behind her.

"Reo," she says. "Who was that man? Why did he call you 'darling'? Have you two met somewhere?"

I hesitate as I try to find a proper answer. "Not . . . really."

"Then, how come he looks like he knows you? It seems like he recognized you when he bumped into you."

I groan as I try to avoid eye contact with her. "No. We never met each other and I never even knew him in my entire life. Just . . . forget this ever happened, okay?"

Mai hesitates as she just nods her head. She looks like she wants to know more about it, but probably decided to not ask any further. "Well, since we're here, how about I comfort you?" She takes my cheek, pulls me into a kiss.

My eyes widen from this unexpected moment, but I give in and return the kiss. This is all I need to forget about all this for a while. I really need to calm down right now. Both of us fall on the bed as we continue to kiss until we pull away to catch our breath.

"Reo . . ." she whispers.

"Mai . . ." I whisper back as I quickly wrap my arms around her. "Please, stay with me for a little longer."

Mai is surprised by my sudden movement, but quickly hugs me back. "Okay. I'll stay here for as long as you want."

"Thank you." I sincerely hope that the man that I just saw doesn't come up again. This is really stressing me out right now and there are more important things to deal with than him. Pretty soon, I feel sleep consuming me and I doze off in Mai's arms.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Short chapter, I know. But you'll get the full explanation in the next chapter. What will the mysterious man have in store for Reo? And who is he? Stay tuned for the next chapter! **

**Feel free to give out any suggestions, questions or concerns and don't forget to review! ;)**


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